It would hard to express my excitement at the return of Weeds for season 6. In anticipation of this blessed event, I have rewatched the series from the beginning.
I have to say, the masturbation monologue is still one of the best moments in the series.
Quick summary, for those who have been living under a rock for the past few years: man dies, widow (Nancy Botwin played by Mary Louise Parker) turns to dealing drugs in order to support her two sons. She burns through a series of drug hook-ups, a (temporary) DEA replacement husband, two grow-houses and even her whole neighborhood before bedding the mayor/kingpin of Tijuana (Esteban Reyes played by Demián Bichir). Thankfully, she manages to get knocked up with his kid right around the time her (ayahuasca-prompted) sense of moral outrage spurts to life over her complicity in a few instances of human-trafficking and she rats out his cross-border smuggling tunnel to the Feds.
Since being hot and carrying a man’s only son gets you a free pass the first time you royally f*ck up , Botwin spends most of season 5 trying to figure out how to get a rock on her finger and a birth-certificate for the impending newborn, before the baby-daddy knocks her off and takes the kid to Mexico where people don’t ask probing questions. Except for those asked by some “Mexicunt” booster (Pilar Zuzua played by Kate del Castillo) who doesn’t want her golden boy to have anything to do with that gringa whore. Thankfully, Nancy’s (now) middle son (Shane Botwin played by Alexander Gould) has slowly descended into sociopathy, and season 5 ends with him whacking the Mexicunt over the head with a croquet mallet.
Since this is her second royal fuck-up, the premise of Season 6 seems to be Nancy taking “the Botwin Show!” on the road.
Thoughts, as they come:
Opening shot: orange juice. Nice and wholesome. With pulp, even!
Nancy: How did you do that? [i.e. pack up the baby so quickly]
Lupita: I work for you, I’m always ready to flee. You should know yourself better.
You know, I was concerned to see Lupita doing a commercial for some sort of diabetes product. I felt bad for her for a moment, until I saw the footnote on the screen that said something like ‘dramatic portrayal.’ I guess being a nosy housekeeper can get you somewhere.
Shane is too busy playing air hockey to be concerned about the fact that he’s just killed someone. “Don’t play the whole I’m a killer card now. It’s so unacceptable.” That’s some solid advice from a mom to her sociopathic son. How far we’ve come from that lesson in “jerkin’ the gherkin”.
Alanis Morissette, is not terrible as an actress, by the way. Most singers who try to make the jump are. Props to her for doing a decent job.
Did Nancy just fart in the crazy abortion-protester’s face?
How weird is it going to get when Nancy hooks up with her dead husband’s brother? (Neveryoumind that whole breast-feeding moment.)
What a short episode. That’s a bummer. It was barely 20 minutes.
Summary: Have they ditched Celia, Dean and Isabella? Of course, their character arcs do seem to be a little played out. I know that Doug is coming back, because he’s been in all the ads. I always was bummed that Heylia and Conrad disappeared. Kind of like how Alejandro disappeared at the beginning of the second season, without any explanation. And Guillermo! It’s always seemed like he’s the only one who understands who Nancy is… even if she has managed to outmaneuver him on numerous occasions. I hope he’ll make a showing. Also, gratuitous linkage: Hunter Parrish.
Lastly, is it wrong to want to see Shane Botwin in a spinoff movie/series in ten years? Dexter-redux, here we come!
Stay tuned next week for episode 2 of Weeds (Showtime Tuesdays @ 9PM EST)
